Clinical efficacy and safety of the combination of mesenchymal stem cells and scaffolds in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: Protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) injection combined scaffolds for knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a relatively new treatment for knee OA and has not yet gained popularity. So, the effectiveness, safety is worthy to be explored. We performed a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combination of MSCs and scaffolds in the treatment of knee OA. METHODS: A literature search was performed in October 2022 without restriction to regions, publication types or languages. The primary sources were the electronic databases of PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and the ClinicalTrials.gov. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration’s risk of bias tool for randomized controlled trials. Statistical analyses were performed utilizing Review Manager 5 (The Nordic Cochrane Center, Copenhagen, Denmark). RESULTS: Visual analog scale score, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, Lysholm knee scale and adverse events will be assessed. CONCLUSION: The systematic review will provide evidence to assess the effectiveness and safety of MSCs combined scaffolds for the treatment of knee OA.